[ EDITORIAL ]

Cellphone and Emails: Unwarranted

Published: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 at 12:36 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 at 12:36 a.m.

Excerpted from an editorial by The Philadelphia Inquirer:

The Petraeus affair has helped Americans understand the sweeping power federal authorities have to snoop around in email. Another way Americans may unknowingly expose their personal affairs to law-enforcement eyes is through their cellphones.

In 2011, cellphone providers reported handling 1.3 million requests from law enforcement for data about customers, according to The New York Times.

You might think that police would need a warrant to get at those records.

Not so, at least as far as the U.S. Constitution is concerned. Federal courts have yet to stop warrantless cellphone record searches, though cases are pending. The government says you have no expectation of privacy for cellphone calling records, since you've already "shared" them with a third party, the cellphone company.

Now, the good news: It's likely harder for state and local police in this region to do that kind of warrantless fishing.

David Rudovsky, a senior fellow at Penn Law School who specializes in privacy issues, says ..."Regardless of what courts rule, something legislatures have to be thinking about is whether they can pass statutes that give better protection."

<p><em>Excerpted from an editorial by The Philadelphia Inquirer: </em></p><p>The Petraeus affair has helped Americans understand the sweeping power federal authorities have to snoop around in email. Another way Americans may unknowingly expose their personal affairs to law-enforcement eyes is through their cellphones.</p><p>In 2011, cellphone providers reported handling 1.3 million requests from law enforcement for data about customers, according to The New York Times.</p><p>You might think that police would need a warrant to get at those records.</p><p>Not so, at least as far as the U.S. Constitution is concerned. Federal courts have yet to stop warrantless cellphone record searches, though cases are pending. The government says you have no expectation of privacy for cellphone calling records, since you've already "shared" them with a third party, the cellphone company.</p><p>Now, the good news: It's likely harder for state and local police in this region to do that kind of warrantless fishing.</p><p>David Rudovsky, a senior fellow at Penn Law School who specializes in privacy issues, says ..."Regardless of what courts rule, something legislatures have to be thinking about is whether they can pass statutes that give better protection."</p><p>Hear, hear to that.</p>